Magnetic game apparatus



15, 1957 G. M. BERRYHILL, JR 2,399,335

' MAGNETIC GAME APPARATUS Filed Oct. 14, 1955 ZHF/G- 5 F/G. Z

. 48 Inwentor: 44 46 ziyfiRGE M. BERRYHILL, Jr., 3 WM-* 1 A I United States Patent This invention relates to apparatus for playing games,

and particularly to game boards and playing pieces for use therewith.

The invention is principally concerned with the provision of game playing pieces capable of producing unpredictable results in their reactions to one another during the playing of a game. It is concerned, also, with the provision of a game board adapted for use with such playing pieces.

From a more specific standpoint, the invention is concerned with the provision of a game wherein playing pieces are directed and handled relative to one another on a game board in a manner simulating a jousting tournament between armored knights.

A principal purpose of the invention is to provide a game playing piece of the above nature which is simple in construction, is capable of being economically turned out on a mass production basis, is effective and positive in its operation during play, and is susceptible of bearing representations of a wide variety of different objects of possible signification in the playing of a game involving attraction or repulsion as between individual playing pieces handled by the respective players.

The game playing pieces of the invention are each equipped with a magnet, which is freely rotatable therein by the person using it. This injects an element of chance into any game played with the pieces on the basis of two or more of the players bringing their respective game playing pieces into proximity, one to another. It is impossible for a player to know the orientation of the poles of the magnet of his playing piece or of that belonging to an opponent. Accordingly, the reaction will be either one of attraction or repulsion, making possible a variety of game possibilities.

A specific game possibility results by incorporating in each of these special, magnetic, playing pieces the representation of an armored knight equipped with a jousting weapon, such as a lance or a spear, and by providing aspecial game board depicting a tournament ground or field bordered by individual home bases or pavilions for the respective knights.

Accordingly, it canbe seen that this invention offers unusual game possibilities applicable to all who may desire to play, irrespective of age, intelligence, or skill. The outcome of the game is dependent entirely upon chance, and there is every opportunity for the free exercise of chance on a unique, exciting, and intriguing basis.

Further objects andfeatures of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the particular preferred embodiment illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawing.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 represents a plan view of the special game board referred to above;

Fig. 2, a perspective view of the game playing piece of the invention as constructed for use with the game board of Fig. l;

Fig. 3, a longitudinal sectional view taken along the line 33 of Fig. 2 and drawn to an enlarged scale;

Fig. 4, a transverse sectional view taken along the line 4-4 of Fig. 2 and drawnto the scale of Fig. 3; and

Figs 5, 6, and 7, side elevational views of additional game playing pieces useful in playing the specific game concerned.

Referring to the drawing:

The game board of Fig. 1 may be made in any of the usual ways, preferably of paperboard or other stifi sheet material, so as to hold down the middle. It is imprinted with or otherwise carries indicia establishing the parjousting tournament. As illustrated, a tournament area 10 is bordered by four home bases or pavilions 12, each disposed along a respective side of the game board. For the sake of atmosphere, the basis or pavilions 12 are each artistically portrayed as enclosed by a castle wall 14 having a drawbridge 16 across which the playing piece of the invention are pushed for combat in the tournament area 10.

Figs. 2, 3, and 4 illustrate the special playing or game piece of the invention as adapted for the particular game board of Fig. 1. Such playing or game piece comprises a base member 20 surmounted by the representation of an armored knight 21, with spear 23 in jousting position.

- The base member 20 has spaced arms 24 extending forwardly therefrom, and, projecting from the opposing inner faces of such spaced arms 24, are pivot pins 26.

An elongate magnet carrier or casing 23 containing a bar magnet 29 is pivotally mounted between the arms i 24 for rotation on the pivot pins 26 relative to the base member 20. p

The entire playing piece, with the exception of the magnet, is advantageously molded from a plastic material. Thus the magnet carrier or casing 28 is made up of two similarly formed, elongate,'cupped members 39 and 32, each of which is provided with a pivot opening 34 adapted to receive a pivot pin 26. They are heat sealed in open-face to open-face relationship following inser- Their inside dimensions are tion of the magnet 29. preferably such as to snugly embrace the magnet at least on two of its sides and at the ends, see Figs. 3 and 4, so. as to prevent or minimize movement thereof relative to the casing.

Following assembly of the magnet 29 and its carrier or casing 28, the resulting unit is inserted between arms 24 of the playing piece and rotatably mounted on the pins 26 by spreading such arms apart laterally and bringing the pivot openings 34 in respectively opposite sides of the carrier or easing into alignment with such pins. Re-- heat sealing within a slot 40 provided in the top of such:

base member.

Additional playing or game pieces useful for the particular game concerned are shown in Figs. 5, 6, and 7.'

They are non-magnetic, and are preferably molded as completely rigid units to represent a and an archer 48, respectively;

For playing the specific game here illustrated, each playe1- receives a magnetic knife 21, a king 44, a queen 46, an archer 48 and play money (not shown).

Stakes for the game are set by the individual players in king 44, a queen 46, i

terms 'of one or more members of their respective royal families, and jousting bouts are fought in the tournament area of the game board by respective sets of two players using their magnetic knights for the purpose. The winner of a bout is considered to have captured the member or members of the royal family staked by the opposing played. It is then up to the loser to pay a set ransom established by the rules of the game for the return of each. The game proceeds in this manner until one player has obtained all the money of the other players as ransom, and has also obtained final possession of their respective royal families.

At the beginning of play, all the players place their royal families, namely, king 44, queen 46, and archer 48, behind their respective castle walls 14, and place their magnetic knights 21 on their respective drawbridges 16. One of the players is selected in any suitable manner to start the game. He challenges one of the other players (preferably a particular one designated by the rules as positioned opposite, or to the right, or to the left of the challenger) to a jousting bout between their respective magnetic knights. The player challenged then sets his stake, in terms of king, queen, or archer, to one side of the tournament field 10, and both players pick up their magnetic knights and spin the magnets 29 thereof by manually flipping the forward protruding ends of the magnet carriers or casings 28. Before the magnets stop spinning, the knights are abruptly placed down on the game board, with the bottoms-of their respective base members resting firmly thereon. This stops the spinning abruptly and in a random manner, thereby orienting the magnetic poles of each in a completely unknown and unpredictable relationship.

The challenger then pushes his knight toward the defending knight on the defending players drawbridge 16. He does this without removing his knight from contact with the board or changing the position of the magnet carrier or casing 28, and in a manner such that the two knights are directly facing each other as the challenger approaches the defender. At a distance of approximately one-half inch between the two knights, the winner of the tournament will be determined. If the challenging knight attracts the defending knight, he captures him and wins the bout. The defending player must then pay the established ransom price from his stack of play money for return of the member or members of his royal family which he had previously staked on the outcome of the bout. The reverse is true if the defending knight repulses the challenging knight.

The game may continue in this way, with each player in turn challenging another, or the challenger may be given an opportunity to go completely around the board, challenging, in succession, each defending player, whereupon the next player in a given order becomes the challenger.

When any players stack of money is exhausted and his royal family captured, he is out of the game.

Whether the special, magnetic playing or game pieces of the invention be in the form of knights or in any one or more of a variety of other possible forms, they will be attracted toward each other when the polarities of the respective magnets are oppositely oriented, and, in all instances, the relative orientation will be completely unpredictable when the magnets are spun and the pieces abruptly placed on the game board or other playing surface in the manner described. I

The rules of play may be varied as desired. An interesting variation is to provide for the players choosing tea-ms, and the teams then playing against each other.

While the essential features of the invention are here shown and described as embodied in a particular preferred construction, it should be understood that various changes may be made by those skilled in the art, without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is the intention, therefore, to be limited only as indicated by the scope of the claims appended hereto.

I claim:

1. A playing piece. for games, comprising a base member having a fiat bottom for support on a fiat playing surface and having a pair of mutually spaced, laterally projecting, coextensive arms; a bar magnet; and means pivotally mounting said magnet between and adjacent the free ends of said arms for free rotation about a transverse axis extending through the center of the magnet between opposite poles thereof, so as to permit spinning of the magnet to unpredictably orient its poles relative to said base member, said bottom of the base member and the bottom of said magnet as mounted being approximately coplanar in rest position on a flat playing surface, so that the spinning of the magnet can be stopped to unpredictably orient the poles thereof by placing the playing piece on such playing surface.

2. A game, comprising a game board having a flat surface bearing indicia depicting a contest area; and a plurality of individual playing pieces, including playing pieces that each comprise a base member having ,a flat bottom for support on said game board and having a pair of mutually spaced, laterally projecting, coextensive arms, a bar magnet, means pivotally mounting said magnet between and adjacent the free ends of said arms for free rotation about a transverse axis extending through the center of the magnet between opposite poles thereof, so as to permit spinning of the magnet to unpredictably orient its poles relative to said base member, said bottom of the base member and the bottom of said magnet as mounted being approximately coplanar in rest position on said game board, so that the spinning of the magnet can be stopped to unpredictably orient the poles thereof by placing the playing piece on such game board, and a representation of a contestant in offensive position surmounting said base member.

3. The game of claim 2, wherein the contest area is a jousting tournament field, and the contestant is a mounted and armored knight in jousting position.

4. The game of claim 3, wherein the plurality of playing pieces include sets of playing pieces representing various members of a royal household.

5. The playing piece of claim 1, wherein the base member is surmounted by a representation of a contestant in offensive position.

6. The playing piece of claim 5, wherein the object represented is a mounted, armored knight in .jousting position.

7. The playing piece of claim 1, wherein the magnet is encased in a housing, and the housing is pivotally attached to the base member as part of the magnet mounting means.

8. The playing piece of claim 7, wherein the magnet housing and the base member are of plastic material, and the housing is sealed about the magnet.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 813,082 Cottrell Feb. 20, 1906 2,295,452 Deaton Sept. 8, 1942 2,500,180 Hubbell Mar. 14, 1950 2,651,140 Kovac Sept. 8, 1953 2,665,912 Juran Ian. 12, 1954 2,665,913 Hlavac Jan. 12, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS 669,167 Great Britain Mar. 26, 1952 1,097,437 France Feb. 16, 1955 

